She’s still just a teenager, but Jessica Sanchez probably has the edge in experience on most of the Season 11 American Idol contestants.

After all, she’s been through this before, auditioning for America’s Got Talent in the show’s first season (2006) and being invited back for the wild card round, where she was eliminated.

Jessica was 11 at the time. Since then, she has appeared in a Crickett Wireless Commercial, released a 2009 single called “Don’t Stop the Music” that’s still available on iTunes, and been featured on another single by Brandon Kane (“You and Me,” released in 2010).

Oh, and she also studied at Theatre of Arts in Hollywood.

Now she’s on Idol, having received a golden ticket with a performance of “Natural Woman” in San Diego.

We didn’t see that during the San Diego episode, but promos for that episode showed the judges singing along with Jessica and clearly enjoying her performance.

Jessica says she thinks she has a different tone than most singers and brings a mix of R&B, soul and urban influences to her music.

Her favorite former Idol contestant is Jennifer Hudson.

“I’ve gotten comments, ‘You sound like her,'” Jessica, 16, says with a smile. “That’s a big deal for me, because she can blow.”

39 Comments

It’s a good thing Jessica didn’t win America’s Got Talent. Bianca Murphy won and where is she? It’s hard to sell young girls like them who have big adult voices singing adult songs. Now that Jessica is 16, her voice fits her age. I hope she wins this time because she has an incredible recording voice and more importantly, she is an explosive performer who is not afraid to give 200 per cent……

I totally agree with you
Sonetta….Jessica got what it takes to be an American Idol and a recording artist…
Powerful vocals beyond her years…
She has many more years coming and a very bright singing career….Producers should handle her properly so that she can share her God given talent to our children and to our children’s children…

Jessica is really one of a kind. She’s young, talented, and has a big voice to share to the world. Her love for music is unbelievable and sometimes her voice just pulls me into the screen when she sings and puts me into her world. Very captivating! No doubt she’ll go far in American Idol. I really hope she wins

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